Source: Las Vegas Sun (Click here for original story)
Last month, when Evaleen Diaz found out she was pregnant, it became one more obstacle of many toward her goal of graduating in June with the rest of her Western High School class.
The 17-year-old senior is short on class credits and needs to pass three more proficiency exams before she can walk across the stage to receive her high school diploma. Now, Diaz is three months pregnant, complicating her plans to make up credits and cram for the state-mandated exit exams.
The normally celebratory news of an expectant mother came as a surprise and a source of major disappointment for Diaz’s parents. Her father refused to look at her for days, Diaz said.
“They think I’m not going to graduate because I’m going to be a mom,” Diaz said, tears welling in her eyes. “It made me really sad. It hurts me, but I feel like I can prove them wrong.”
Diaz is one of more than 6,500 seniors still at risk of not getting a high school diploma this year, according to new graduation projections released Tuesday by the Clark County School District. Although that figure is still extraordinarily high, it’s an improvement from the more than 10,000 at-risk students identified at the start of the year, said Clark County Schools Superintendent Dwight Jones. (Read more)
Western High School Graduate Advocate Coordinator Daniel Topete, Western senior Evaleen Diaz and Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kristin McMillan share a laugh at Western on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. Public support is being sought for a mentoring program to help students at risk of dropping out. (Paul Takahashi)
